August 22, 2008: Tofu Shop

   

This eatery's true identity has eluded us for some time. "Tofu Shop International" registered early interest in Michael and I when we first moved to Melbourne and spotted it in our 2006 Cheap Eats guide. Now I'm not even sure that that's quite its name - the sign more accurately reads "TOFU SHOP international fine foods". Let's just push on with the simpler moniker "Tofu Shop", shall we?

A couple of attempted visits were foiled by the fact that the Tofu Shop is closed on Sundays. As I read about their tofu soft serve ice cream in exotic flavours like rosewater, and coconut-pandan, I became increasingly keen to visit. Then there was Kristy's post about one particular staff member hassling vegans. At an all-vegetarian shop featuring tofu. What the...?

   

There was no sign of this person, or any other unfriendly folk, when we finally tried the Tofu Shop for dinner. Instead we encountered a bench full of vegetarian dishes and a friendly girl who offered to run us through the drill. Like Soulmama, the main approach is to choose a bowl size (small $8, medium $15, large $17) and then pick which dishes you'd like to eat; there's some plain rice and a few sauces on offer too.

I was determined to retain room for ice cream, so limited myself to the small bowl - this still proved to be a solid meal for my small appetite. Michael, meanwhile, was getting a medium bowl piled with a taste of every dish on offer: beetroot and adzuki beans, pumpkin and fresh herbs, fennel, miso ginger tofu, shitake tofu, pickled Chinese cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. There wasn't a dud among them! Most notable of all is their feature ingredient, exceedingly fresh and delicate tofu. It was when I returned to the counter later that I noticed a few other foods available as set plates (not part of the pick'n'mix set up) - 'soyvlaki', soy falafel, vege balls, pastry triangles, salads and dips. It'll be this part of the menu I sample on my next visit.

Though the Tofu Shop was without any customers when we arrived, it rapidly filled with takeaway and eat-in customers as we enjoyed our own meals. It seems that on a Friday night (and presumably any other night), the staff are equipped with the finite amount of food on display and once that's gone, dinner's over. Though the official closing time is 9pm, supplies were running low by 8:15.

   

Thankfully the ice cream machine was still running! Flavour of the day was cafe latte, and Michael surprised me by wanting a serve of his own ($4). We should have shared, 'cause $4 gets you a lot of icecream! It didn't taste at all beany, and had a distinctive but difficult-to-describe texture - creamy but firm, perhaps like a frozen custard. The first mouthful was perfect sweetened coffee, though my taste buds dulled as I progressed through dessert.

This small cafe is not a place for lingering long over meals and soaking up the ambiance - while it's light and clean, the fit-out is only a half-step up from your local takeaway. But it boasts a huge variety of vegetarian dishes and reasonable prices; it's an ideal stop for a nourishing snack, reliable meal or even a soy-based sweet treat.

Address: 78 Bridge Rd, Richmond
Ph: 9429 6204
Unlicenced
Price: veg mains $8-17